Ghost
by sawyerzelda
Summary: Zelda is heartbroken when Link, her lover, is murdered before her eyes. However, his spirit still lingers in the realm of the living as he tries to keep Zelda from suffering the same fate. How to make contact? Through a psychic named Peach. Based on movie
1. Introduction

Disclaimer: NO, I do not own the Zelda or Ghost characters. DUH!! (. . .wow, I'm so glad I have that off my chest)  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
GHOST  
  
~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Zelda flopped down onto her bed, sighing with happiness. Link, the man she'd just been married to several hours ago, sat down on the bed next to her. She grabbed his arm and pulled herself into a sitting position.  
  
"Well, it's official now," Link whispered, grinning. Zelda smiled and rested her head gently on his bare chest. "We've finally been married."  
  
"I know," Zelda said softly, her smile becoming larger. She kissed Link's cheek softly. He stroked her face, kissing Zelda back. She pulled him further down into the bed, so they were lying side by side, staring into each others eyes. "I love you," she whispered, pushing some of Link's hair behind his ear.  
  
Link smiled. "Ditto."  
  
*************TWO DAYS AGO***************  
  
"Hey, Link!" called out Marth, running towards his friend. "C'mon, hurry up! We'll be late for work!"  
  
"Sorry," Link apologized, shutting the door to his house. "I had to help Zel get all her stuff inside."  
  
"Link!" Marth cried, pretending to be shocked. "You two aren't even married yet!" To Link, it was clear that Marth was mocking his mother.  
  
"Ha, ha," Link laughed dryly, smiling a bit. The two friends walked down a street until they reached their office building. They walked inside, and went into an elevator. They both worked on the top floor.  
  
"I shouldn't have come to work today," Marth said to Link rather loudly in the very crowded elevator. "I've got an extremely serious disease, nearly fatal. The Doc said I should've stayed home, but I just couldn't."  
  
Some of the people in the elevator shifted their weight so they were as far away from Marth as possible. Link tried not to laugh at his friend's joke.  
  
"Yeah, I've been in a lot of pain lately," Marth continued, trying not to grin himself. He coughed. "See, I've got this terrible cough. The Doc told me not to touch anyone, or else they might catch my--" Marth was interrupted by a very loud cough, and he placed his hand on the shoulder of a man in front of him, who jumped slightly. "Oh, sorry, sir. Please excuse me."  
  
Everyone got out of the elevator on the next floor, leaving Link and Marth alone. "Stairs must be getting their popularity back," Link joked.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
ok, i know that was REALLY short, but its just an intro!!! gets better!! 


	2. The Alley

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Link woke up to a small kiss on his cheek. He stirred, then turned and saw Zelda right in front of him. "Hi," he whispered.  
  
Zelda smiled. She kissed him again. "I love you," she said randomly. "So much."  
  
Grinning, Link kissed her ear. "Ditto."  
  
Sighing with happiness, Zelda stretched and got out of the bed. She skipped over to the windows and wrenched the curtains open.  
  
"Woah, that light's really bright!" Link commented, covering his eyes with his hands.  
  
"Is it all right if I open the window?" Zelda asked. Before Link had a chance to answer, Zelda opened the window as wide as it would go. She took a deep breath, inhaling the New York City smell, then screamed at the top of her lungs.  
  
His heart beating rapidly, Link jumped to her side. "Zelda, what is it?!"  
  
"Nothing," she said, turning to him in surprise. "I scream sometimes in the morning to air out my lungs. All part of the routine." She screamed loudly again. "Ah, that feels much better. Sorry if that annoys you. I'll try to do it less."  
  
"Thanks," Link said, walking into the kitchen. He saw their cat, Terri, sitting on the counter. He scratched her between the ears. "Morning, Terri."  
  
"What d'you want to eat?" Zelda yawned, following her husband's stride into the kitchen. "I feel too lazy to cook anything."  
  
"Then I'll make something," Link volunteered.  
  
"YOU?!" Zelda snickered. "Don't make me laugh. You've probably never cooked in your life."  
  
"Ah, that's where you're wrong, my dear," Link said, grinning. "I survived on my own cooking for four years in college."  
  
"I thought you told me that you lived on canned soup and frozen waffles all those years," Zelda said.  
  
"Just get out the maple syrup, will you, honey?" Link asked, taking a box of Ego-waffles out of the freezer.  
  
Laughing, Zelda opened a cabinet and took out the syrup. While Link's back was turned, she opened the bottle and squirted some of it onto the back of his neck. He reached a hand back, then turned around, grinning.  
  
"What was that for?" he inquired, not succeeding to keep a straight face.  
  
"For being you!" Zelda laughed. She squirted more of the drippy, gooey maple syrup on top of him.  
  
"Well your feeling is mutual!" Link said, snatching a tube of mustard out of the refrigerator. "On guard!"  
  
Laughing hysterically, Zelda leapt on top of Link, shoving him into the wall. She poured maple syrup down the front of his shirt. He pushed her into a cushiony kitchen chair, laughing just about as hard as her.  
  
"I'll get you for that!" he cried.  
  
"You'll have to catch me first!" she teased, running to the opposite side of the room. "And that'll be tougher than it sounds!"  
  
Terri watched on blankly as her owners ran about the kitchen like small children, enjoying their food fight. 'Stupid humans,' she thought to herself. 'Eventually, they'll be sorry they used up all that perfectly good maple syrup and mustard.' Terri looked hungrily at the food that was splattered all over the kitchen paneling.  
  
"Phew, I think that's enough for now," Link decided, panting. "Terri, please help yourself to the remains."  
  
Meowing joyfully, Terri skittered about the kitchen, licking up the spare syrup and mustard that was everywhere. Zelda laughed, opening a bag of cat food. She walked over to Terri's food bowl.  
  
"Great job," she giggled. "Now she'll never eat MeowMix again!" (A/N: that's another thing I don't own).  
  
Link put his arms around her. "Well, at least we enjoyed ourselves."  
  
Zelda reached up and kissed Link briefly--quickly, but not without passion. "I love you," she laughed.  
  
Grinning, Link cuddled her closer. "Ditto."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"You know Link, I believe that you can be quite weird sometimes," Zelda said, as they walked hand in hand down a dark avenue at night.  
  
"Thanks for being so honest," Link laughed. "Was there a reason for that completely random question?"  
  
"Kind of," Zelda giggled, moving closer to Link in the cold night air. "I was just thinking about something. . ."  
  
"What? About how unnaturally WEIRD I am?"  
  
"No. It's just that. . .you've never said that you love me."  
  
Link was quite taken aback. "What're you talking about, Zel?! Of COURSE I've said that I love you! Don't be ridiculous!"  
  
"It's true!" Zelda insisted. "You've never said those exact words to me! I'M always the one saying 'I love you' to you! You always say 'ditto.' Not that I don't like that word, but it can get a little frustrating sometimes."  
  
"Sorry," Link said. "But that just seems like such an old phrase to me. Why say it when 'ditto' takes about three seconds less to say?"  
  
"Wow," Zelda said sarcastically. "I feel so appreciated."  
  
"It's nothing personal!" Link said. "It's just that. . .I don't know. Y'know, I just don't really ever feel comfortable actually saying those three words. . .together in a sentence like that. . ."  
  
Zelda sighed and smiled at the same time. "It's okay. I just find it a little out of the ordinary, you know?"  
  
"Okay," Link laughed. "You've got me. Do you--"  
  
"TAKE IT OUT."  
  
Link and Zelda looked up quickly. A red-headed man had a gun pointed at Link's chest. The two newlyweds backed up slightly, nervousness flowing all over them. Instinctively, Link stepped in front of Zelda.  
  
"What d'you want?" he asked.  
  
"Your wallet, you idiot," the man answered. "Give it to me. NOW. Take it out of your pocket and give it to me!"  
  
Slowly, Link reached into his jacket pocket to get his wallet. As he brought his hand out from his jacket even slowler, he tried desperately of a way to get out of this whole mess.  
  
"Hurry up!" the man snarled. He shot the gun, causing the bullet to fly into Link's right shoulder. Zelda screamed as Link stooped a bit, trying to recover the pain. "Now are you going to give me that wallet, or am I going to have to take it out of your dead, clammy hands?!"  
  
"Zelda, get out of here!" Link warned, stepping closer to the man.  
  
"No! I'm not going to leave you here!"  
  
"GO, Zelda! The man has a gun!"  
  
"And I'm going to USE IT if I don't see some wallet-retrieving here!" the man yelled, moving closer to Link. "Take it out, you coward!"  
  
Link punched the man in his face. The criminal was sent skidding across the ground, his gun knocked loose from his hand. He sat up, wriggling his jaw. Link leapt on top of him, wrestling him to the ground. A horrid fist fight followed.  
  
Zelda backed up against a wall. "Help!" she cried out to anyone who could hear her. "Somebody help us! Please, help!" The fight going on between the criminal and her husband was so intense, she dared not step too close, in fear of being dragged into it and only making matters worse. Slowly, she started to walk towards a phone booth.  
  
"Get away from the phone!" she heard the man shout. Several gun shots followed. Zelda whipped around and screamed.  
  
The red-headed man was running away as fast as he could, Link hot in pursuit. The robber had managed to steal the wallet, which had almost all of Link's money in it. Darkness seemed to be taking the man's side tonight-- it swallowed him up, and soon he was no where to be found.  
  
Zelda walked down the alley in fear. She collapsed to the dirty ground, screaming again, but softer this time.  
  
'Now what am I gonna do?!' Link thought with frustration, looking down all the possible streets that the burglar could've escaped down. His breathing was too loud to be able to hear the man's footsteps, and it was much too dark for him to see anything. Feeling quite defeated, Link threw a rock as hard as he could down one of the alleys.  
  
Exhausted, Link turned around to get back to Zelda. He heard loud groans, but couldn't make out what they were saying. "ZELDA!" he shouted. Link flew back down the alley. "ZELDA, are you--" He stopped dead in his tracks.  
  
Zelda's back was to him. "Somebody help!" she shouted into the cold, empty night. "PLEASE, SOMEBODY HELP US! HELP!"  
  
In her arms, Zelda cradled Link's body. His dead body. "How is that possible?!" he shouted, running to his wife. "Zel, what's going on?! I don't--" Trying to grab onto Zelda, Link's arms went right through her.  
  
"HELP, SOMEBODY PLEASE HELP US!!" Zelda screamed, clutching onto Link's lifeless body. "HELP!!"  
  
Lights finally turned on in some nearby apartment rooms. Zelda's screams for help had roused them from their sleep, and they quickly put on coats over their night clothes to see what was the matter. People came running out of their doors, looking terrified at the sight before him..  
  
"What happened to him?!" someone asked.  
  
"Who did it?!" questioned another.  
  
"Link, don't leave me!" Zelda whispered, hugging Link closer to her body. Tears cascaded down her face. "I need you; please don't leave me!"  
  
"Zelda, I'm right here!" Link shouted in desperation. "How can you be holding me right there when I'm right here!? What's going on?!"  
  
"What happened?" asked a cop.  
  
"Sir, I don't know!" Link cried desperatly, turning to the officer. "We were just walking down the street when--augh!!"  
  
The police officer walked right through him. "HELP!" Link shouted. Everyone rushed right past him (and some through him) to get to his weeping wife. Then Link was hit with a sudden realization: he was a ghost.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
*Twilight Zone music starts playing* creepy! plz review, cuz i luv reviews!! :D! 


	3. Roy

Zelda had gone home. Link, afraid of what might happen if he tried walking through the door, sat glumly on the steps outside.  
  
"You there," came a voice. "Shouldn't you be inside?"  
  
Link looked up. A strange man was walking towards him. "Go on boy, get on back inside."  
  
"Who are you?" Link asked. "And what--wait, you can see me?!"  
  
"Yup," the man answered, sitting down next to Link. "I'm dead too, you know. Ghosts can talk to each other."  
  
"T-then I really am a ghost," Link whispered.  
  
"Yes, sorry to say. So what happened to you? How'd you die? You don't look very old to me, sport."  
  
"It was a burglar," Link said, choking back tears of hatred. "He pointed a gun at me, and then I started fighting him. Then he got my wallet and ran down the street. I followed him, but then lost him. I ran back to the alley where my wife was, and I saw her holding me in her arms!"  
  
"That's the toughest part of being dead," the man sighed. "Seeing your actual dead body in someone's grasp. Yeah, this whole city is full of ghosts and spirits. 'Course you don't know it until you're dead."  
  
"Great," Link said.  
  
"Ah, don't feel too bad, boy," comforted the man. "Some things just. . .they don't turn out the way you'd like them to." He paused to look at Link, then stared at the house behind them. "You're nervous about doors, aren't you?"  
  
"Kind of."  
  
"Well, they're a cinch once you get used to them," the man said. "Here, let me show ya." He stood up, and (to Link's amazement--he still wasn't quite used to the whole ghost thing) walked right through the door. He came back out, laughing. "The first time is always a little hard. But go on, you try it out, buddy."  
  
"Um. . .are you sure?"  
  
"'Course I'm sure! Besides, you can't go on for the rest of your dead life not knowin' how to walk through doors!" He pulled Link to his feet, and without warning, shoved him through the door.  
  
"WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!" Link yelled.  
  
"You had to do it some time," the man answered simply. "But you might as well try getting back through, now. You don't hurt at all, do you?"  
  
"No," Link admitted. "But that felt really weird."  
  
"Like I said, you'll get used to walking through stuff as you do it more and more often. Now come on back out."  
  
"Okay," Link sighed, feeling a little nervous. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and flew through the door. He burst through the other side, right through the stranger helping him, and landed on the sidewalk.  
  
"You don't have to try so hard," the man laughed. "Just act like you're walking through a door as if you were alive! Go on, try again!"  
  
"I hope you're not doing this just for your own sick amusement," Link muttered, getting to his feet and stepping up to the door."  
  
"Of course not. I'm just trying to lend you a hand, boy. Go on through the door!"  
  
Link, more determined than ever, went straight through the door. And-- Voila! He was on the other side! "Hey, I did it!" he called out to the man. He got no response. "Yo, are you still there?" Still no answer. Grinning, Link stuck his head through the door. Well, the man had left.  
  
He heard a hissing sound. Link turned around and saw Terri. Wondering what she was hissing at, he looked around him. No one was there. Then he realized that his cat was looking straight at him.  
  
"You can see me?" he asked. She hissed again. "Can you see me?" He took a few steps to the left, and Terri's eyes followed him. "Woah, this is freaky."  
  
"Terri? Where are you? Oh there you are. What're you hissing at?"  
  
Zelda walked up to the door and picked up Terri. She looked around. "Mice," she muttered to herself. "C'mon, you'd better eat something." Yawning a bit, Zelda filled Terri's bowl with MeowMix.  
  
Sniffing the food doubtfully, Terri looked up at Zelda. She pranced over to the refrigerator, clawing at the door and hissing. "What is it?" Zelda asked walking over. She opened the fridge, and Terri leapt at the mustard inside. "He spoiled you," Zelda whispered to herself, smiling a bit and taking out the mustard. "Here, have it Terri."  
  
Sighing, Zelda sat down at the counter and watched Terri proceed to lick up the mustard she'd just squirted into her cat's food dish. She glanced at a picture she had put on the refrigerator. It was one of her favorite snapshots.  
  
In the picture, Marth had just accidentally spilled his cream of mushroom soup all over Link's shirt. Link was in mid-jump (leaping out of his seat), and Zelda was laughing hysterically on the side.  
  
Link walked up to the refrigerator and stared at the picture. He heard loud sobs coming from behind him, and turned to see Zelda with her head down on the counter in tears.  
  
"Why'd you have to go, Link?" she sobbed. "Why did this have to happen to us? Why were you forced to leave me? I need you, Link!"  
  
The sight was definately enough to make Link's eyes water up. "I wish it didn't have to be this way," he said to her, even though she couldn't hear him. "Believe me, Zelda, I want to do nothing more right now than to. . .I wish I could kiss you, Zel."  
  
And, of course, Zelda hadn't heard a word of it. She walked right through him, up to the refrigerator. Looking at the picture closer, she only cried even harder (if that was at all possible). "I miss you, Link," she sniffed. "And I love you so much!"  
  
"Ditto," Link whispered. He tried to embrace her, but his arms went right through her solid body.  
  
Zelda ran up her stairs to change. Terri slinked up the stairs after her. Link was going to follow, when he heard the click of a lock. . .well, unlocking. He ran out of the kitchen, and saw the front door opening.  
  
"GET OUT!" Link shouted, once he saw who had opened the door (and was now closing it). "GET OUT OF THIS HOUSE!!"  
  
It was the red-headed man who had killed Link only last night. But of course, Link's arms which were trying desperately to beat the man up went right through him. Looking around cautiously, the man started to head for the stairs.  
  
"GET AWAY!" Link yelled. "ZELDA, LOCK YOUR DOOR!!" He said this, even though he knew it made no difference. Terri, sitting on a cabinet at the top of the stairs, glanced wearily at the red-head and then yawned.  
  
The man fingered something in his jacket. Then he saw Zelda in her room, changing out of her shirt. Grinning, he took a half-step towards the room.  
  
"Terri!" Link cried desperately. The cat's eyes looked directly at him. Link stared back at her, waiting for her to crack. Suddenly--  
  
"ARGH!"  
  
Sensing danger from Link's expression, Terri leapt off of the cabinet. Since she couldn't touch Link, she landed on the red-headed man's face.  
  
"Terri? What's wrong?" Zelda asked from inside her bedroom.  
  
Panicking, the man finally managed to pull Terri off his face. Like lightning, he bolted down the stairs and back out the front door before Zelda could see him. Link, determined not to let the man get away again, followed him.  
  
Once outside, the man started sprinting down the street. Link drew level, hoping that wherever they were headed, he'd be able to find his way back home. The man stopped suddenly outside a small apartment. He buzzed the intercom, and the name under it red, "Roy Altan."  
  
"Roy, hm?" Link growled, as Roy ran quickly through his door. He collapsed onto his bed, heaving deep breaths. Then there was a loud knock on the door.  
  
"Who is it?!" he shouted.  
  
"Me," came the answer.  
  
'That helps,' Link thought, rolling his eyes. "Come in," said Roy.  
  
The door opened, and Link almost fell over in shock--Marth was the one who came into the room. "Did you get it?"  
  
"No," Roy answered, annoyed. "She almost caught me, so I had to run."  
  
"Where's the wallet?" Marth asked.  
  
"Here." Link watched Roy take HIS wallet out of his pocket and give it to Marth. Seeming frantic, Marth tore through it.  
  
"WHY ISN'T IT HERE?!" Marth shouted, throwing the wallet against the wall (going through Link's body on the way). "Why couldn't he just have told me where the dumb thing was?!"  
  
"I'd love to tell you wherever the thing you're looking for is," Link said with sarcasm, "but this guy over here bumped me off."  
  
"He put up a fight," Roy said.  
  
"You were only supposed to get his wallet!" Marth shouted. "You weren't supposed to kill him!"  
  
"Hey, I'm sorry!" Roy yelled, standing up. "It was just a dumb miskate!"  
  
Link's mouth dropped. He had been killed by ACCIDENT?! And Marth, his best friend and Best Man had been behind it all?! It didn't make sense!  
  
"Look, I don't think you understand my problem here," Marth said. "I have four million dollars stashed on a stupid computer. And Link had that freaking card number that will let us have access to the account it's in!"  
  
"So this Link guy was a millionaire?!" Roy asked.  
  
"No," Roy answered. "I think he said it was a client's account. But Altan, do you know how much money that is? FOUR MILLION DOLLARS. We need to find out that number, or else we are BOTH dead meat. Okay?"  
  
Roy tried to speak, but no words came out. He nodded fearfully. "Good," Marth whispered. He turned around and left the room. Link chased after him.  
  
"WHY DID YOU DO THIS TO ME?!" Link shouted, trying fiercely to beat up Marth as he unlocked his car door. "I TRUSTED YOU!! YOU WERE MY FRIEND! WHY DID YOU DO THIS TO ME AND ZELDA?!?!"  
  
Link cursed after Marth as he drove away. Feeling pure anger and hatred, Link ran as fast as he could in the opposite direction of home. After running for about twenty minutes, he stopped at a train station.  
  
A steam engine pulled up, and people began boarding. Link looked at the train, then hopped on. So what if he was leaving home? He had an eternity to try and find his way back. Slowly, the train pulled out of the station. Sighing, Link tried to find a seat. Most were occupied. And if he found an empty one, somebody would probably sit on him anyway.  
  
After about a half an hour of easy riding, Link heard stomping footsteps. He turned around and saw the man that had taught him how to walk through doors earlier that morning.  
  
"What're you doing here?!" the man asked.  
  
"Nothin', I'm just--"  
  
"Get off my train!" he shouted, his face turning redder. To Link's amazement, his fellow ghost kicked one of the passenger's bags right towards him.  
  
"Wait, how're you--"  
  
"GET OFF!" Angrily, the man picked up Link and through him out of the train (it was still moving, by the way. "And stay out!!" For emphasis, the man smashed some of the glass with his hand.  
  
Link stared in shock. That man, that ghost, had just touched solid objects with his hands. . .but how was that even remotely possible?! He was a ghost!  
  
But Link didn' t have much time to worry about that. He was way to tired. He'd barely gotten any sleep. But where to go? Feeling hurt and dejected, Link started walking down the street and then turned the corner.  
  
He was a little surprised at what he saw before him--his own house. Apparently, the train he'd ridden had brought him right home. Link walked up the steps and into his room. He couldn't find Zelda. Then he heard a faint whirring sound coming from downstairs. Curiously, he went down the stairs that led to the basement.  
  
Zelda sat on a stool at her pottery machine. However, she didn't seem focused, and her hands were barely aware of how they were shaping the wet clay. Tears were silently falling out of her eyes.  
  
"I went to the grocery store today," she said, glancing over at Terri, sitting lazily in the corner. "And I m-met Mr. Goldstone there." Her eyes left Terri's lethargic gaze, and small sobs were slightly audible. "H- He asked me how I was doing, and then he told me to say hello to you!"  
  
Link deduced that Zelda was acting like she was talking to him. He walked in front of her, but she stared right through him. It hurt him to know that she couldn't see him at all.  
  
"And I broke into tears right there in his store," Zelda continued, her eyes getting wetter and wetter. "I wasn't embarressed, Link, but I kept thinking you'd come up behind me and hug me a-and say everything would be all right!" Her hands collapsed, and her mis-shaped clay drooped to the ground.  
  
Wishing that he really could take up Zelda in an embrace, Link walked over to Terri. He made her look into his eyes, and she stared at him, seemingly able to tell that he was extremely depressed. He slowly started walking to Zelda's chair, and she followed him with her eyes.  
  
"C'mon, get up," Link muttered.  
  
Finally, Terri leapt off of her chair. She climbed up Zelda's leg and made her way into her lap. Link smiled weakly, as Terri reached up and licked Zelda's chin affectionately. Smiling throug her tears, Zelda pet her cat, getting clay all over her fur, but Terri sensed that she was carrying out a duty that must be fulfilled.  
  
A few moments later, Terri slowly crawled off her owner's lap. Zelda headed towards the light switch, unsuccessfully stifling a yawn. "C'mon Terri, let's go."  
  
Link stared wistfully after Zelda. He knew that if he followed them, he would go completely insane.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
dont 4get that I LOVE REVIEWS!!! ............not to seem conceited or anything. 


	4. Peach Oda Mae

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Roy woke up the next morning to the sound of his phone ringing. He crawled lazily out of bed and picked it up. "Hello?"  
  
"Altan, it's me, Marth. I've been doing some serious thinking all night about that account. Look. . .you have to search his house completely. I can't take any chances. We need those four million bucks--if we don't get them on time, I am telling you. . .we'll both be murdered!"  
  
"Why don't you steal the stupid thing yourself?" Roy yawned. "Why do I always have to do the dirty work?"  
  
"Because Zelda trusts me! And if it's necessary, Roy, you've got to kill her too! If she catches you in her house. . .just 'shut her up,' okay?"  
  
"Yeah, whatever."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
In the afternoon, Link walked out of his house, completely bored. Zelda had woken up before him, and had gone off somewhere; and he of course had no idea where he was. After walking for a few minutes, Link heard some music from a store around the corner. Curiously, he walked towards the noise.  
  
The song playing was "The Wanderer," one of Link's favorite songs. He looked at the name of the shop where the song was coming from: "Madame Peach's Psychic Contacts--reach your dead loved ones." Laughing, Link decided to step inside the small, tacky-looking building.  
  
Once inside, Link saw several people sitting in some sort of waiting room. A woman stuck her head through a door, looking around at the customers. "Mrs. Vance?" A middle-aged black lady stood up, as the woman gave her a sarcastic look. "Madame Peach Oda Mae will see you know. Please follow me."  
  
Link decided to follow as well. They walked into a room that was heavy with the scents of perfume. There was another woman in there as well, wearing the same sort of costume as the one who'd called for Mrs. Vance.  
  
'This is interesting," Link thought to himself.  
  
A door from the back of the room opened dramatically. Out of it came a woman dressed in gold material, huge necklaces, earrings, and bracelts drooping all over her body. Link tried his hardest to hold in a laugh. This had to be "Madame" Peach.  
  
"Mrs. Vance," Peach said in a melodramatic whisper, sitting across from her. "It is to my understanding that you have come to me in order to contact your late husband."  
  
Mrs. Vance nodded.  
  
"And he would be. . .Ricky."  
  
Mrs. Vance shook her head.  
  
"Bob."  
  
She shook her head again.  
  
"Bill. Murray. David," Peach continued to guess, thinking up random names and hoping one of them was that of Mrs. Vance's deceased husband.  
  
"Yes, that's it!" Mrs. Vance cried excitedly. "David!"  
  
Peach held up a hand, closing her eyes slowly. "Mrs. Vance, please contain your excitement. My connection with David Vance may be slightly difficult. . .oh wait, I see him. . .yes, he's a very handsome man, Mrs. Vance. . .what's that, David? You do?"  
  
"What is it?" Mrs. Vance whispered with bated breath.  
  
"He says that he wants to know how you're doing."  
  
"Things are all right, but they'd be even better if you were here, David!" Mrs. Vance shouted, looking to the ceiling in hopes of seeing David and wringing her hands.  
  
"She's okay," Peach said in a completely serious tone. "Now David, I wonder if you could possibly. . .oh wait, no! Hold on a sec, don't go. . ."  
  
"What's wrong?" Mrs. Vance asked.  
  
"Are you losing the connection?" asked one of the women, Malon, Peach's sister. "Have you lost him?"  
  
"It's getting vague," Peach whispered, her eyes opening.  
  
"What can we do to get him back?" inquired the other woman, Saria, Peach's other sister.  
  
"Yes, tell me!" Mrs. Vance cried.  
  
Solemnly, Peach closed her eyes. "I think. . .I think another twenty will do it."  
  
Link snorted as Mrs. Vance pulled out a twenty dollar bill and handed it to Peach. "That's right, Madame Peach. Milk her for all the money she's worth. Poor David, he had to live with such an idiot. He should be glad he died."  
  
Immediately, Peach's eyes snapped open. "What?"  
  
"What?" asked Mrs. Vance.  
  
"I thought I heard a man's voice in here. . ."  
  
"It must be David!" Mrs. Vance shouted joyfully. "Oh, may God bless whoever invented twenties!"  
  
"No, I don't think it was David," Peach said apprehensively.  
  
Link's eyes widened. "Wait, you can hear me?!"  
  
"Who said that?!" Peach asked, getting nervous.  
  
"Peach, you can hear me?!" Link shouted.  
  
"Who's DOING THAT???!" Peach screamed, standing up out of her chair.  
  
"H-Hold on!" Link cried with desperation. "Can you hear me, Peach?! I'm a ghost! YOU CAN HEAR ME?!!!"  
  
"YES, I CAN HEAR YOU!!" Peach shouted, frightening the other three women in the room, deaf to the ghost's voice. "LEAVE ME ALONE!!"  
  
"No wait, you've got to help me!" Link shouted. "You're the only person who can hear me! Wait. . .say my name! My name is Link! Say it!"  
  
"GO AWAY!!!"  
  
"Say my name!!"  
  
"FINE, GO AWAY LINK!!!!" With that, Peach ran screaming from the room.  
  
Link sped after her. "You've got to listen to me! Please help! Wait, where are we going, Peach?"  
  
"I'm goin' home!" Peach answered, not losing her stride.  
  
"Peach, what's wrong?!" Saria yelled, running up to her.  
  
"What in heaven's name was that performance all about?!" Malon seconded, trying vainly to catch her breath.  
  
"I heard a ghost!" Peach screamed, opening the door to their apartment and flinging herself inside. She collapsed onto a chair, completely out of breath. "Wait. . .I think I've lost him."  
  
Nervous about their sister's present condition, Saria and Malon crept slowly into the kitchen. Link sat in a chair opposite Peach.  
  
"You. . .can hear me?" he wheezed.  
  
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!" Peach screamed. "Link, whoever you are, why won't you leave me alone?!?!"  
  
"I need your help!" Link answered. "You are the only living person in the world who can hear me!"  
  
"Wait a minute. . .where are you?"  
  
"I'm sitting in the chair right across from you."  
  
Squinting her eyes, Peach leaned forward. "You know, both of my parents had this ability. Being able to talk to spirits. . .they said they always hoped that someday I'd be able to do it too. . .I just never imagined it would actually happen! To me, of all people in this stupid world!"  
  
"Well, it's happened," Link said. "And I really, really, REALLY need your help. You have got to help me out."  
  
"Hold on a second. . ." Peach said, squinting her eyes again. "You. . .you're a jock, aren't you?"  
  
Malon, who'd had her ear pressed against the kitchen door, turned to face Saria. "I think we'd better get a doctor."  
  
"No, I am not a jock!" Link yelled. "I just seriously need your help. I have got to talk to my wife before it's too late."  
  
"What d'you mean, 'before it's too late'?!" Peach asked.  
  
"You'll find out if you give me a hand! Just help me, PLEASE!!"  
  
Fuming, Peach stood up. "I don't have to listen to this! I don't even KNOW you, Link, or whatever your name was!! Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to take a loooong bath--and you'd better not follow!!"  
  
"You can't get rid of me that easily," Link sniffed, folding his arms. "And don't think that I'd even dream of following you into that bathroom!! I pride myself on my fidelity to Zelda--my wife--even if I AM dead. I'll just wait outside the door."  
  
"Yeah, I'll bet you will," Peach grumbled.  
  
Later that night.....................  
  
"I'm Henry the Eigth, I am I am, I'm Henry the Eigth I am. . ."  
  
It was now well past eleven o'clock at night. Link sat in a chair in Peach's bedroom, while she lay in bed with a pillow in her face. She sighed with frustration. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get rid of the sound of Link's voice. Now he was singing her least favorite song in the world.  
  
"I'm Henry the Eigth I am--it's no use, Peach, I can keep this up forever--I am, I am, I'm Henry the--"  
  
"FINE!!" Peach shouted, throwing her pillow into the air. "I'LL HELP YOU TOMORROW, JUST PLEASE STOP SINGING THAT STUPID SONG!!!"  
  
"Sure," Link agreed, grinning. "While you get your beauty sleep, I'll step out of the house. But don't forget--I'll be back tomorrow morning." He stood up and walked over to the door. "And if you somehow decide you want to break your promise, be warned: Henry the Eighth will come back for an encore."  
  
Laughing to himself, Link walked out of Peach's house. With the aid of the one person who could hear him, he could help the one person he loved. Strolling down the avenue with his hands in his pockets, Link passed by a glass window of a closed store.  
  
He stopped. Link remembered the other day when that man had shoved him off the train, and had also broken the glass. . .Link swung his fist as hard as he could at the window, but nothing happened. He tried again and again to shatter the glass, but got always the same result.  
  
'Note to self,' Link thought, walking back to Peach's apartment. 'Ask the freaky man how to break stuff.'  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
yup, peach just had 2 come in2 the story!! 


	5. Warning Zelda

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Before going back to Peach's house, Link decided to see if Roy was home. He intended on finding out as much as possible about the criminal before seeing Zelda. Link walked through the walls and doors into Roy's room.  
  
"What luck," Link said to himself. "The Kingpin is here too."  
  
Indeed, Marth was sitting on a cushioned chair across from Roy, who was sitting on his bed. Link felt that he had come right after one of them made a rather striking statement.  
  
"That settles it then," Marth finally said, cracking his knuckles. "We're going to have to kill her."  
  
"Who?"  
  
"Zelda, you idiot. We can't take any more risks."  
  
Link gasped. "What're you talking about, Marth!? Why do you have to kill her too?! You murderer!"  
  
Roy shrugged. "Whatever. When do you want me to do it?"  
  
"I guess when I feel the time is right to. I've still got a few things to work out before you actually do it." Marth stood up and opened the door. "Good-bye, Roy."  
  
Obviously, Link had missed something very important. He ran as fast as he could back to Peach's house.  
  
A few minutes later.......................  
  
"Good morning, Peach."  
  
"ARE YOU STILL HERE?!"  
  
"Um, yeah, you said you'd help me today. I spent the night on the roof. You're not thinking of taking back your promise, are you?"  
  
"No," Peach said bitterly. "You're just lucky that Malon and Saria aren't awake yet. They must think I'm going crazy."  
  
"It's already ten o'clock! How late do they sleep?!"  
  
"Noon, at the very least. And that's on weekdays. This is Saturday, Link." Peach got out some Lucky Charms. "Erm. . .do ghosts eat?"  
  
"I would if I could," Link sighed. "I'm standing right in front of your refrigerator. Try throwing something at me--it'll go right through me, I swear."  
  
"What do you expect me to throw at you?"  
  
"A marshmallow."  
  
Rolling her eyes, Peach picked up a shamrock marshmallow and threw it at the fridge. True to Link's word, it went right through him. "Y'see?"  
  
"Sure, whatever."  
  
"So when are you going to call?"  
  
"Call WHO?"  
  
"My wife, Zelda. . .duh."  
  
"Don't you 'duh' me, Link! If I really am your only hope here, you should treat me with some more respect! Can I at least eat some cereal before we call up your little girlfriend please?"  
  
"All right. I can wait."  
  
Peach started eating the Lucy Charms. "And I have another question. Just what makes you think she's actually going to listen to me? What am I going to say? 'Hi, I'm some pyschic who lives down the street and your dead husband wants me to talk to you.' Do you know how STUPID that sounds?!"  
  
"You do it for a living!" Link cried. "You fraud!"  
  
"How DARE you call me a fraud!!" Peach gasped. ". . .even if it is true." She sighed. "I'll try a phone call, but I'm telling you--it's not gonna work."  
  
"Don't worry, Peach. I'll tell you what to say."  
  
"GOOD."  
  
A few minutes later, Peach finished her somewhat rushed breakfast. She walked into the living room and picked up the phone. "I can't believe I'm doing this. . .what's the number, Link?"  
  
He told it to her, and she dialed. It rang. It rang again. After a third ring, someone picked up the phone, and in a cracked voice said, "Hello?"  
  
"Hello, may I talk with. . .Zelda, please?"  
  
"Speaking."  
  
"Oh, hello. My name is Peach Oda Mae, and your--"  
  
"Look, I'm sorry, but I really don't want to buy anything right now."  
  
"Wha--I'm not trying to sell you anything, ma'am."  
  
"Then what do you want?"  
  
"Well I don't know if you've heard of me--judging from the tone of your voice, I doubt you have--but I'm a. . .well, your husband Link wants to talk to you really badly. I think it's kind of important."  
  
Zelda tried to speak, but she couldn't find her voice.  
  
"What's she saying?" Link asked. "Tell her it's really urgent!"  
  
"He says it's something really urgent!" Peach said into the phone. "Zelda, are you still there? Link needs to speak with you!"  
  
"Link is dead!" Zelda sobbed, throwing the phone back into its cradle roughly. Tears falling out of her eyes, she ran into her room.  
  
Sighing, Peach put down her phone. "There, like I told you, it didn't work. Well, I am guiltless. I've fulfilled my promise. You can go now, Link."  
  
"No!" Link said. "Get up, Peach. We're going to my house and talking to her there in person."  
  
"Are you crazy?!" Peach asked. "What makes you think she's going to listen to me at home more eagerly than on the telephone?!"  
  
"I have a plan that'll make her listen!" Link answered. "C'mon, get up already!"  
  
"Oh Link, do I have to?"  
  
"YES!"  
  
"Geez, all right, calm down! I'm coming. . ." Grumbling, Peach stood up and walked out the door. "Where's your house?"  
  
"Just turn the corner over there and walk straight. Now that I think about it, we don't live far away from you."  
  
"What fabulous news," Peach said sarcastically. "Is this it?"  
  
"No, it's the blue one."  
  
"A blue house. How nice. And what exactly do you expect me to say? Ring her doorbell and pretend like I'm delivering a pizza?" Peach walked up to the door and twisted the knob. "Well, it's locked."  
  
"Start shouting."  
  
"WHAT?!"  
  
"Shout to her so she'll hear you!"  
  
"Link, are you out of your mind? What on earth makes you think that I'm going to start yelling right--"  
  
"JUST DO WHAT I TELL YOU TO, OKAY?!"  
  
"Fine, fine. You really have an anger management problem, don't you? If you weren't dead, I'd suggest that you go to a shrink. What do you want me to say?"  
  
"Just start out with her name."  
  
"HEY, ZELDA!! ZELDA, OPEN YOUR WINDOW!!" Peach shouted. A few seconds later, she turned around. "Well, she's not there. Bye."  
  
"No, do it again! She's got to hear us!"  
  
"Man, you are persistant! ZEEEEEEELDAAAAAAAA!!!"  
  
"What do you want?!" Zelda shouted, opening her window and sticking her head out of it impatiently.  
  
"Your husband wants me to talk with you!"  
  
"Go away, Peach, or whatever your name is! I don't want to listen to you! Link is dead and he'll never come back!" Angrily, Zelda shut the window as hard and as loudly as she could.  
  
"That's it. I'm outta here," Peach mumbled. "She's not gonna listen to me anymore. She'll never believe me."  
  
"No, you've gotta keep trying!" Link said desperately. "Okay, I've got an idea! Tell her. . .tell her. . .Tell her that you know that we spent our honeymoon in Miami--there's no way you could know that if I wasn't here!"  
  
"Will you ever give up? HEY ZELDA, LINK WANTS ME TO TELL YOU THAT YOU SPENT YOUR HONEYMOON IN MIAMI!!"  
  
"And say that on at our wedding reception Marth spilled his cream of mushroom soup down my shirt!"  
  
"AT YOUR WEDDING RECEPTION MARTH SPILLED HIS SOUP DOWN LINK'S SHIRT!! Man, I can't believe how dumb I sound. Hey wait, the door's opening a little bit. . .keep tellin' me stuff!"  
  
Link whispered something else.  
  
"AND I KNOW YOU STITCHED YOUR NAME IN YOUR GREEN UNDERWEAR!!! Ew, did she think she was gonna lose it or something?" The window slowly closed. "HEY WAIT, DON'T GO AWAY!!"  
  
"Lady, do you want to shut up?!" yelled a man from inside his house.  
  
"AM I TALKIN' TO YOU!? NO, I DON'T THINK SO!!"  
  
The front door of Link's house opened, and Zelda stepped out. She looked around quickly, then walked towards Peach. "How do you know all that?"  
  
"It's what I've been telling you all this time! Link is talking to me!"  
  
"Ask her if she's eaten yet," said Link.  
  
Peach rolled her eyes. "He wants to know if you've eaten yet."  
  
"No. . ."  
  
"Well, then why don't we go out to a bagel shop or something?" Peach asked at Link's prompting.  
  
"Um. . .okay. . ."  
  
"We can talk as soon as we got there."  
  
When they reached the bagel store, Peach selected a table seated for three. Zelda sat down uneasily.  
  
"So do you mean to say that. . .Link is in this room right now?"  
  
"Sure is."  
  
"Where is he?"  
  
"Link, where are you?"  
  
"Tell her I'm holding her hand," Link said, trying to touch Zelda's fingers.  
  
"He says he's holding your hand."  
  
Zelda looked down. She moved her hand a bit, but felt nothing. She didn't see anything either. Not wanting to embarress herself in front of a stranger (or Link, if he was really there), Zelda kept the tears from falling.  
  
"So how can he. . .why are you the only one he can hear?"  
  
Peach shrugged. "I have absolutely nooooooo idea. It kind of runs in my family, though. Y'know, bein' able to hear dead people's voices. A little freaky at first, but now I'm kind of used to it."  
  
Taking a deep breath, Zelda shook her head. "This sounds crazy. I'm sorry, but I just can't believe you. Thanks for your trouble." Zelda stood up and started to walk away.  
  
"No, she can't leave!" Link cried. "Peach, tell her I love her!"  
  
"Wait, he. . .he says he loves you!"  
  
Smiling through her silent tears, Zelda slowly turned to face the seated Peach. "Link would never say that." She started to walk away again.  
  
"Ditto!" Link said. "Say ditto!"  
  
"What the--ditto! Ditto. . .?"  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
After Peach had said ditto, Zelda was quite convinced. They went back to her house to talk some more. They both took a seat in the living room.  
  
"So is this Link?" Peach asked, picking up a photo in a frame.  
  
"Yes, that's him."  
  
"Not a bad lookin' guy."  
  
The photo showed Zelda and Link running down the street in New York, holding each other's hands. Both were laughing heartily, Link with a suitcase in hand. The picture had actually been taken by a professional photographer, who loved the backdrop (which was the NYC skyline). He copied it, then gave the original picture to them.  
  
"We're here to talk important stuff," Link reminded Peach. "Not sentiments. Don't get distracted."  
  
"Wait a minute," Zelda said. "Link, can you hear me?"  
  
"Loud and clear," Link said, smiling.  
  
"Yes, he can," Peach said.  
  
"How're you feeling, Link?"  
  
"I'm fine."  
  
"He says he's fine. But he's got something to tell you."  
  
"Yes, it's very important," Link said. "Zelda, you're in serious danger."  
  
"You can't just BLURT it out like that!" Peach shouted. "It'll scare the poor girl to death! I'll tell her in my own way."  
  
"What'd he say?" Zelda asked.  
  
Peach took a deep breath, then faced the young woman in front of her. "Zelda. . . you in danger, girl."  
  
Zelda was a little taken aback at this approach, but hid her shock. "What does Link mean by that?"  
  
"Quick, get that pad of paper and pen," Link told Peach. "I'm going to dictate something to you, and you've got to write it down."  
  
"All right," Peach sighed, getting ready to write. "I'm ready."  
  
Link gave Peach Roy's address. "The man who lives there is named Roy Altan. He's going to murder you, Zel."  
  
"Woah, woah, woah," Peach said standing up. "Okay, I am NOT getting this involved. I've spoken to Zelda--it was very nice meeting you, by the way--and now I am guilt-free. I do not want to get caught up in this murder thing!"  
  
"What is it?" Zelda asked.  
  
"You've got to tell her!" Link shouted.  
  
Biting her lower lip, Peach turned towards Zelda. "Link says that. . .the man who lives at that address" (she pointed at the pad of paper)"is going to kill you."  
  
"Tell her to go to the police department immediately!"  
  
"He wants you to go to the police and inform them of it right away."  
  
Sitting there in shock, Zelda found it slightly difficult to find her voice. "Well. . . what does he m. . .someone wants to kill me?"  
  
"Yes, tell her I was murdered," Link said.  
  
"Yeah, he says that he was murdered," Peach said.  
  
"Well, I already knew that, but what does he--"  
  
"Go to the police and tell them about this man right NOW!"  
  
After a moment of hesitation, Zelda stood up and headed out the door. "I just hope that they believe me."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
dun dun dunnnnnnnnn!!!! 


	6. The Cops

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
They didn't believe her.  
  
"Look," Zelda said at the police station. "I know this sounds crazy, and normally I don't believe in this kind of stuff myself, but she knew things she couldn't have known otherwise! I swear!"  
  
"Just exactly who is telling you all this stuff anyway?" the policeman asked.  
  
"Her name is Peach Oda Mae," Zelda replied. "She can hear Link's voice, but she can't see him. But she says he says he's there."  
  
The two cops glanced at each other, then back at Zelda. "So are you saying that there are. . .ghosts floating everywhere, all around us?" the female one asked.  
  
"There must be," Zelda answered.  
  
The policewoman glanced at her partener again. "Heck, I'm never getting undressed again!" She laughed then turned back to Zelda. "Now if you'll excuse me ma'am, I've got more important things to do." She stood up and walked behind her desk.  
  
Zelda turned to the other cop. "Sir, you TOLD me to come to you if I found out anything else. And this woman knew things. . .she just knew things she couldn't have known if Link hadn't been there! Please, officer. . .will you please just look up this man? You may have a file on him."  
  
Sighing, the man stood up. "All right, Miss. What's his name?"  
  
"Roy Altan."  
  
"All right, I'll be back in a minute."  
  
Zelda waited nervously in her chair. She hadn't expected the cops to believe her, but it was crazy. How could Peach have known all that stuff if Link hadn't been there? It just wasn't possible!  
  
A few minutes later, the policeman came back. Zelda looked at him hopefully as he sat down in his chair carrying several folders. "Sorry ma'am, but I didn't find any files on this Roy Altan guy. However, we have several records on this Peach Oda Mae."  
  
"What d'you mean?" Zelda asked quietly.  
  
"I hate to break it to you," said the cop. "But she's quite a crook. In '79, she was convicted of petty burglaries. . .false identifaction in '82, '87, '93, and most recently '94. . . she's had to pay several fines in order to elude being thrown in jail. . .sorry, ma'am. Mae is probably just trying to get back at some old boyfriend or something."  
  
"N-no!" Zelda cried, starting to cry again. "She has to know it! She must be telling the truth! How could she know all that stuff?!"  
  
The cop shrugged. "She could've snooped around outside windows, gotten stuff out of your garbage bins. . .as I understand it, she's set up a phony psychic booth down town. Listen, lady--you need to relax. It's only been a couple days since your husband's murder. When she says there's a chance he's still around, you want like hell to believe it. But it's not true. Go home and get some rest. Maybe you could take it over with someone. You know, one of your friends that you can trust."  
  
Zelda pursed her lips together tightly and stood up. "I'm sorry. You must be right. I don't know what I was thinking. . ." She slowly made her way out of the police station.  
  
"It's all right," the cop called after her. "Stuff like this happens all the time!"  
  
"No it doesn't," said his partner from behind her desk.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Marth knocked on Zelda's door. She opened it, and he stepped inside. "Sooo, you said you wanted to see me. . .?"  
  
"Yes," Zelda said. "I was going to tell you about this earlier, but I went to the cops instead. . ."  
  
Marth got a little worried. "What happened?"  
  
"It's this woman that came here," Zelda answered, leaning on her counter for support. "She says that Link is talking to her, directly. She can hear what he's saying. He told her that--"  
  
"Woah, hold on a second," Marth interrupted, stepping closer. "This lady just comes to you and starts saying that Link is talking to her?"  
  
"I had to believe her!" Zelda argued. "She knew. . .she just knew all this things she couldn't have known if Link hadn't been talking to her!"  
  
Calming down a bit, Marth decided to play along. "All right, Zel. Just calm down. What'd she say he said?"  
  
At that moment, Link came into the kitchen, whistling. He saw Marth and wished vainly that he could beat him up on the spot. Then he realized something: He'd managed to warn Zelda about Roy, but not about Marth!  
  
"Sh-she said that Link was murdered," Zelda whispered. "And she warned me about this man named Roy Altan."  
  
Link grinned as he saw Marth's face looking extremely agonized for a fraction of a second. "R-really? What about this man?"  
  
"She said he wanted to murder me," Zelda answered, walking into the living room and sitting down on a couch. "And she told me to go to the police station about him, and I did, but they didn't have any files on him!"  
  
As he sat down across from her, Marth's heart beat slowed down. "Okay. . ."  
  
"But this woman who told me about him is a crook!" Zelda cried. "That's what I found out at the station! And now I don't know who I should believe!"  
  
By now, Link had ventured upstairs, looking for Terri. In case things got rough, he might be able to get her to fight for him.  
  
"This is ridiculous," Marth laughed. "Some lady just comes up here and says Link is talking to her, and you believe her--just like that?"  
  
"It wasn't 'just like that'!" Zelda disputed. "It took a while for her to convince me! But I don't understand how she could've known--"  
  
"Zelda," Marth interjected, leaning forward. "You and I both know that there's no such thing as a life after death. This conwoman is probably just. . .trying to get back at some old abusive boyfriend or something."  
  
"Yeah, that's what the cop said," Zelda sighed, sitting up. "You must be right. I guess I just want to believe her so badly that Link is here, and around me." She stood up. "Do you want some coffee?"  
  
"Sure."  
  
"All right, I'll make some."  
  
As Zelda went back into the kitchen to make coffee, Marth leaned back on the couch and sighed from relief. But he was still anxious. Who ever this woman was, she'd have to go. She knew too much. Marth didn't know how, but she knew about the whole thing.  
  
"So, what's the name of this woman who's telling you all this?" Marth asked, as Zelda came back into the room.  
  
"Peach Oda Mae," she answered, sitting back down and handing Marth his drink. "She's a psychic from down the street."  
  
"Phony," Marth grunted. He took a sip of his coffee, staring over at Zelda intently. "Uh. . .could I have some more sugar?" he asked, pointing towards the cup behind Zelda.  
  
"Yeah, sure."  
  
The second Zelda's back was turned, Marth deliberately poured his black coffee all over his white shirt. "Oh crap!"  
  
"What is it?" Zelda asked, turning around.  
  
"I accidentally spilled coffee all over my new shirt," Marth muttered, trying to wipe the stuff off him. Looking quite peeved, he took off his shirt, revealing a bare muscular chest.  
  
"Um, here," Zelda said, reaching over for the shirt and blushing. "I'll throw it in the wash and lend you a shirt."  
  
"No, no, it's okay," Marth insisted, throwing his shirt to the side. He slowly stood up and then sat down next to Zelda. Feeling a bit uncomfortable, she backed up until she hit the arm of the couch. "It's all right."  
  
At was probably not the best time, Link came down the stairs, still looking for Terri. He stopped dead in his tracks at what lay before him.  
  
Marth was sitting directly next to (and almost on top of) Zelda, not wearing a shirt! Suddenly, Marth leaned forward and kissed Zelda's lips with passion. She didn't really kiss him back, but on the other hand, she didn't try to make him stop either.  
  
Shouting with rage, Link jumped towards them. He sailed through them, the couch, and the coffee table, BUT. . .when he came through the other side, his hands bumped against a carnation of flowers, which promptly fell on the floor.  
  
Immediately, Marth and Zelda broke away from each other and stared at the flowers. Marth shrugged it off, and leaned back towards Zelda. But this time, she pushed him away.  
  
"I-I'm sorry, Marth. . .I can't. Not this soon."  
  
"All right. I understand." Marth got to his feet, picked up his shirt, and headed towards the door. "Just remember, Zelda: you can always come to me for help."  
  
"NOT FOR SEX!" Link roared, as he watched his former best friend walk out the door. He turned his attention to his wife, who curled into a ball in the corner of the bed. She was crying softly. Immediately, Link's expression softened. There was Zelda: innocent, heartbroken, confused, and. . .beautiful. He was falling in love with her all over again, but he knew there was no point.  
  
Then it struck him. He'd hit the basket of flowers. . .he'd touched them. The first thing the next day, he decided, he was going to hop back on that train and get that man to help him out.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Roy's phone rang. He turned down his radio and picked it up. "Yeah?"  
  
"It's me, Altan," came Marth's voice on the other side.  
  
"Not another murder," Roy sighed. "I'm almost tired of them."  
  
"You've got to do this one," Marth growled into the phone. "It's this psychic freak. She knows all about the set-up, Roy!"  
  
"Oh," he said dumbly. "Okay."  
  
"I'll come over there tomorrow with the details," Marth said. "It shouldn't be too hard to at least get her arrested and out of our way. . .she's already a criminal. I'll call you tomorrow, okay?''  
  
"Kay. Bye." He hung up.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~  
  
ain't the police dudes poopheads?  
  
Random Quote:  
  
"By the way, there's a name for ladies like you--but it isn't used in high society. . .outside of a kennel."  
  
--Crystal Allen 


	7. The miraculously short chapter on how to...

omg, sry i haven't written in so long!! i just went on a 2 week vacation to CA!!! i couldnt write at all!! SORRY!!!  
  
btw, i have to confess now: This story is not my original idea. i thought earlier that i already said it was based on the movie........didn't i say that? guess not. sorry.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~  
  
Link ran as fast as he could towards the train station. He stuck his head into each of the trains, looking desperately for the other ghost he'd met. Then he felt someone tap him on the shoulder. With relief and some dread, he turned around.  
  
"What're you doing here again?" asked the man that Link had been looking for. "Searching for some more trouble?"  
  
"No," Link answered coldly.  
  
"Then what is it you want?"  
  
"I want you to show me who to touch stuff," Link said blankly. The man snorted a laugh. "Hey, I'm serious here! Tell me how!"  
  
"Get out of here!" the guy demanded. "Now!"  
  
"No! Not until you show me how!"  
  
"Beat it, kid! You're wastin' my time!" The man swung his fist at Link, hitting him in the jaw.  
  
Link shook it off. "Listen, mister. I'm not leaving here until you show me how to touch objects!"  
  
The man rolled his eyes back and stuck out his tongue. Link crossed his arms, undaunted. The other ghost glared at Link, then smiled and held out his hand. "Well, I see I've come across an equal adversary! The name's Merman. Eddie Merman. . .oh wait, I forgot. You can't touch me, can you? Come along with me, son."  
  
"My name's Link," he said, following Eddie.  
  
"Right. Let's go down this alley where no one will see us. Well, you know. . .the objects we'll be moving." They stopped in a deserted lane, and Eddie told Link to stop. He did, and then Eddie walked a few paces in front of them. "See this bottlecap here in front of me?"  
  
"Yes, I do."  
  
Grinning, Eddie got down on his hands and knees, and put his index finger down on the ground. He flicked it towards Link, and it stopped right at his feet. "Easy as pie, good chap."  
  
Link stared down at the bottle cap in amazement. "How'd you do it?!"  
  
"Get down on your knees, boy," Eddie instructed. Link did so. "That's it. . .now just suck up all your anger. Your anger, your love, your passion- -feel it in your gut there?--and now take it out on that bottlecap."  
  
Closing his eyes, Link flicked the bottle cap. He felt it, and heard it skid across the pavement. "I. . .I did it, Eddie!"  
  
"Good job, lad," Eddie congratulated him. "'Course, the smaller the easier. Try. . . hmm, what's in here. . ." He started rummaging around in a garbage can. "Ah, here we go!" He took out an old Pepsi can. "Try this one." Eddie kicked the can towards Link.  
  
Still excited from his previous victory, Link aimed at the can and swung his leg. He didn't miss. However, his leg went right threw it. He almost fell, but managed to catch himself in time.  
  
"Anger, boy," Eddie said. "Get all your angry passion in mind!"  
  
"Got it," Link muttered, readying himself again. He got the picture of Marth kissing Zelda in his mind, and he angrily tried to kick at the can. The next thing he knew, he was on his back.  
  
Hearing the sound of uproarious laughter, he sat up. "What happened?" he asked.  
  
"You were trying so hard!" Eddie laughed. "And you slipped on your foot trying to--to kick it!" He was laughing so hard, it was messing up his speech.  
  
"Would you stop that laughing?!" Link asked angrily. "Stop laughing Eddie, I mean it! Stop!"  
  
"You're such an idiot!" Eddie guffawed.  
  
Link swung his leg at the Pepsi can once more. This time, it sailed through the air, and banged Eddie on the head. He collapsed to the ground, unconcious.  
  
Grinning smugly, Link walked over to his teacher. "Sorry, Eddie. I can't stay. Got things to do. But now that I've gotten your help, I can ski- daddle!"  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
short chapter, i know, but i've got 2 go!!! my parents are (evilly) making me leave!!! more later, readers! don't give up hope!! 


	8. Peach's New Life

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Marth sat uneasily in front of his computer at work. Now was the time to get into that bank account. He grabbed a small slip of paper with eight numbers on it. Then he faced the computer screen. It read:  
  
Name: Rosa Banks  
  
Amount saved: $4,000,000.00  
  
Security number:________  
  
The number was right in Marth's hand. Praying silently, he typed in the numerals into the space. He clicked on the "ok" button, and the screen went black for a few seconds. Sweat poured down Marth's face until "Access Granted; processing" flashed onto the monitor screen.  
  
Marth closed his eyes and tried to hold in a scream of victory. He'd done it. Little did Marth know that Link was standing there watching him.  
  
'I've got to do something about this,' Link thought to himself, even though he could have yelled it and it wouldn't have made a difference.  
  
Link turned on his heel and ran out of the office. He flew down the stairs, in and out of employees, and raced through the door. Breathing heavily, he crossed the corner that led to Peach's psychic shop.  
  
He was surprised to see it filled with people. Normally, Peach had four or five customers waiting (and that was on a good day), but now it was completely packed. Link went through the door and made his way towards the room where Peach would be gazing into her crystal ball.  
  
"Hey, hold it, little man," said a large black guy, putting an arm in front of Link that made him stop immediately. "You gotta wait your turn! There ain't no cuttin in line!"  
  
Link was flabbergasted. "Y-you can see--"  
  
"Course I can see you," the man snorted. "Everyone in here can see you. We're all ghosts too. And word has it that Peach Oda Mae can contact ghosts, and so we all came down here as soon as possible."  
  
"But I've got to get through! It's an emergency!" Link insisted.  
  
"Um. . .the bathroom's over there. . ."  
  
"NOT THAT KIND OF EMERGENCY!!!" Link bellowed.  
  
"Link, is that you?" came Peach's voice from behind her closed door. "Come in here, I want to have a word with you!"  
  
Link walked inside the room, and found it almost as crowded as the one he'd just left. Peach was sitting in the center, glaring around the area, as if looking for him.  
  
"Peach?"  
  
"YOU started all this, Link!" Peach accused. "Where are you!?"  
  
"I'm standing behind you."  
  
"Ooh!" Peach humphed. "Now, thanks to you, I can talk to every dead person there is! It's driving me nuts!"  
  
"Hey, can we get back to me, please?" asked the man Peach had been tending to, named Earl.  
  
"No!" Peach answered. "Link, you'd better--"  
  
"Peach, I need your help."  
  
"Oh no, not again! I thought I just helped you! I do NOT want to get involved with this murder case!!"  
  
"If you help me, there may not be a murder!"  
  
There was a little old lady sitting in front of Peach, blinking. Her hair had been dyed red, and she was very confused about the whole affair. Peach kept on interrupting their conversation by shouting out to people she couldn't see. The old lady's name was Victoria, and she was Earl's husband.  
  
Earl became impatient. He suddenly threw himself on top of Peach. Actually "into" might be a better choice of words. Victoria watched in amazement as Peach's body began to inflate; her eyes turned from blue to brown, her hair shortened and her skin was a tinged brown color. She had almost transformed into Earl.  
  
"Hmm. . .I see it didn't work," Earl commented. He stared at Victoria. "Hot dang, woman! What you done to your hair?"  
  
"Like it?" Vicky asked.  
  
"LIKE it?! You've gone and messed it all up!"  
  
"Well! May I say that you look absolutely ridiculous with that blonde hair!" Victoria stood up. "I'm leaving!"  
  
"Hey baby, don't go!" Earl cried. "I only just started talkin' to you!"  
  
"Yeah, and it wasn't long before you started insulting me again!" In a huff, she walked out the door.  
  
"Wait, come back!"  
  
Earl's essence started to form next to the door, and Peach started to slowly look like herself again.  
  
"GET OUT!!" she yelled. "ALL OF YOU, GET OUT!!! Except for you, Link."  
  
Link watched all the other ghosts quickly leave the room. Peach sighed, clutching her stomach, and bent over the desk. "Fat people never work. . .they use my body, you see. That way, whoever they're trying to contact can actually see them. But then I always get so tired once they leave my body. But it doesn't work with fat people!!"  
  
"Okay, okay, just calm down, Peach," Link said. "I know I've been telling you this before, but it's really important that you help me this time. Now your own life is on the line. I'm serious."  
  
"Just what exactly makes you think you can come back her and just--MY life?! What you talkin' about, Link!?"  
  
"Marth and Roy know you know too much," Link said. "And if you do exactly what I tell you to, I'll be able to save yours and Zelda's lives."  
  
"I'm listening."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
The next day, Peach headed towards the bank with Link (they would've gone last night, but Peach had been too tired because of Earl). "What was that name again?" she asked worriedly.  
  
"Rosa Parks," Link whispered. "Remember that: you are now Rosa Parks."  
  
"Right, right. . .but what if I mess up?!"  
  
"Don't worry. Just do exactly as I tell you, and you'll be just fine."  
  
"Well what if you just walk off and leave me and I'm left to be like a total idiot?!"  
  
"PEACH!! Trust me, okay? I'm trying to save your hide as well as Zelda's!"  
  
"....................fine."  
  
The bank, which was very large, had two spiraling staircases that went in two opposite directions. "Which one?" Peach whispered, trying not to draw too much attention to herself.  
  
"The left one."  
  
They mounted the staircase, and Link continued to give her instructions. "Stop at the desk that says Mary Brown. Tell her you'd like to empty your account. And make it good, okay?"  
  
"No sweat."  
  
Peach stopped at the desk that had a plaque with "Mary Brown" written on it.  
  
"Excuse me ma'am," Peach said. "But are you Mary Brown?"  
  
The woman behind the desk gave Peach a weird look. "Yes, madam, I am. May I help you?"  
  
"Yes, I'd like to empty my account," Peach answered, sitting down in the chair.  
  
"Name?"  
  
"Rosa Parks."  
  
"May I see some I.D., Ms. Parks?"  
  
"Yes, hold a minute. . ." Peach searched in her purse, then pulled out her false identification. It showed her photograph, and right alongisde it was the name Rosa Parks.  
  
"All right then," Mrs. Brown muttered, typing something into her computer. "And what's the number for the account?"  
  
Peach grinned forcefully.  
  
"It's 98340578," Link said.  
  
"9834..."  
  
"0578!!" Link whispered loudly.  
  
"0578,"  
  
Mrs. Brown's eyes widened as the account flashed onto the screen. "You want to withdraw four million dollars?"  
  
"FOUR MILLION DOLLARS?!" Peach cried, again getting another strange look from Mrs. Brown. She felt Link nudge her. She straightened, and resumed her forced smiling. "Yes."  
  
"And w-would you like that in. . .cash or check?"  
  
"Er. . ."  
  
"Check," Link said.  
  
"A check, please."  
  
"All right. . ." Mrs. Brown got out the paper and handed it to Peach. "Sign her please." She handed her a pen.  
  
Peach absentmindedly started writing, "Peach O--"  
  
"NO!" Link said. "You're name is Rosa Parks, remember?!"  
  
"Oops!" Peach whispered. "Ummm. . ."  
  
"Is something the matter?" Mrs. Brown asked.  
  
"Erm. . .LOOK OVER THERE!" Peach shouted, pointing to the opposite side of the bank.  
  
As Mrs. Brown (and several other bank employees) twisted around to see what Peach was pointing at, she tore up the check. "Whoops! Would you look at that? I accidentally ripped the check. Could have another one, please?"  
  
Looking at her sarcastically, Mrs. Brown gave Peach another check, which she signed as Rosa Parks.  
  
"Thank you, Ms. Parks," Mrs. Brown said in a monotone. "Do come again."  
  
"Oh thank YOU," Peach said, grinning. She stood up and headed towards the staircase.  
  
Both Link and Peach had failed to realize that Zelda had been only a few desks away from them. She stared at Peach as she left. Quickly, she took her money and crossed the room towards Mrs. Brown's desk.  
  
"Excuse me, but. . .erm, how much money did Mrs. Mae just withdraw?"  
  
Mary Brown stared at her. "Who?"  
  
"Mrs. Mae. Peach Oda Mae. . .the woman that just left?"  
  
"What're you talking about? That was Mrs. Rosa Parks. Please go away, young woman and cause trouble elsewhere. I'm trying to work."  
  
Zelda numbly walked down the stairs. Rosa Parks? That policeman had been right. Peach was nothing but a no-good petty criminal. She had used false identification to practically rob another person.  
  
Outside the bank, Peach kissed the check in her hand. "Woo-hoo! Four million dollars! I've never even seen this much money before! Ooh, J.C. Penny, here I come!!"  
  
"Oh no you don't," Link said. "I'm not letting you keep that money."  
  
"And why not? I DID do your dirty work, didn't I?"  
  
"It was helping yourself, too!"  
  
"Well what d'you want me to do? Give it to a convent or something??"  
  
Link looked sideways, noticing two nuns next to a sign that read "Help Preserve Our Convent and Stop World Hunger." One held a box to collect money, into which the occasional pedestrian would drop a few coins.  
  
"Y'know Peach," Link said, pushing her towards them. "That's not a bad idea."  
  
"What d'you--" It was then that Peach noticed the two nuns. "Oh no! No way!! I am not about to give four million dollars to a couple of nuns!!"  
  
"Why not?" Link asked. "It's the most worthy cause there is. DO IT."  
  
"But Link!" Peach whined. "It's four million dollars! Do you know how much money that is? IT'S A LOT!!"  
  
"Peach, stop being so selfish! You're lucky to have gotten through all this with your life!"  
  
"Well if it hadn't been for YOU, I never would've been in danger!"  
  
"If it hadn't been for me, you wouldn't be holding that four million dollars!"  
  
Peach opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out. Her shoulders drooped. "Do I have to?"  
  
"Yes." Link pushed her closer. "Just do it, Peach."  
  
Putting on a very strained smile, Peach held out her arm and waved the check slowly at the nuns. "Here," she said through clenched teeth.  
  
Smiling, one of the nuns made to take the check, but Peach slowly moved her arm out of the way.  
  
"Give it to her!" Link ordered.  
  
"I will," Peach said. "Just give me a few more seconds with my money."  
  
The nun grabbed onto the check, but Peach refused to let go.  
  
"Give it to her!" Link repeated.  
  
"I WILL!" Peach said through clenched teeth. Link grabbed her arm, and she quickly let go of the check.  
  
"C'mon, let's go."  
  
"Gladly," Peach sulked, walking away. "Man, I can't believe I just gave four million dollars to a herd of nuns!"  
  
"There were only two of them."  
  
Link turned around and watched one of the nuns read the amount of money that had just been donated. She fainted into the arms of her colleague.  
  
"Man, if I could see you, I'd beat you up," Peach grunted, preparing to cross the busy street. The light turned red, and she began to walk.  
  
Staying behind, Link grinned. "You're a great person, Peach."  
  
Fuming, Peach turned around. She looked about the air, trying vainly to find Link. She picked a random spot, and stuck her tongue out at it.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Hello?" Roy asked drowsily into his phone.  
  
"Did you find out where this Peach person lives?" came Marth's response.  
  
"Wha? Oh, yeah. . .why?"  
  
"Will you be ready for another murder by tomorrow night?"  
  
"Sure will."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
well, that's the next chapter. hope it was okay!! 


	9. Danger

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"I hate you," Peach mumbled.  
  
"Why?" Link asked, who was sitting with her in her apartment.  
  
"WHY?! Why do you think?! Now I can hear ghosts all the time, 24/7, my sisters think I've gone psycho, I was almost murdered, and mostly, YOU MADE ME GIVE FOUR MILLION DOLLARS TO A PAIR OF NUNS!!!!!!!!!!!"  
  
"You don't understand," Link sighed.  
  
"Understand what?"  
  
"The four million dollar thing."  
  
"Wait. . .where are you right now?"  
  
"I'm standing behind your chair. Why?"  
  
". . .Just so you know, I'm giving you a reeeeeeeallly dirty look right now."  
  
"Whatever. But you've got to understand this, Peach: if you had kept that four million dollars, you would've been in even more danger than before!"  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because when Marth and Roy find out they can't get their money, you'll be one of their top suspects!! They'll kill to get that four million, they killed me for it! I'm just trying to save you from what happened to me, Peach!"  
  
Peach looked at her feet. "I'm sorry, Link. I know this really isn't a time to get selfish. . .I've just never had so much money in my hand at one time, and I got really frustrated that I couldn't keep it."  
  
"Yeah, I know," Link sighed.  
  
"Those nuns won't be in danger from Marth, will they?" Peach asked with concern.  
  
"No, he doesn't know they're involved. But speaking of Marth, I think I'm gonna go check up on him at work. . ."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Marth sat alone at his computer at work. It was after hours, and he was the only employee left. Grinning complacently, he took out the card with Rosa Parks' account number thing on it. He typed in the numerals and hit enter.  
  
His eyes widened in horror when the screen said "Access denied. . .Please try again." Worriedly, Marth slowly entered the numbers for a second time. "Access denied... account has been emptied."  
  
"Emptied?!?? What?!" Marth shouted, hitting the side of the monitor.  
  
Link, who sat in a nearby office chair, grinned smugly. "It's not gonna work, Marth," he laughed, as his former friend tried the numbers again. "No matter how many times you try, it's not gonna work."  
  
Marth turned off the computer, waited a minute, then switched it on again. The number still didn't work.  
  
Smirking, Link kicked against the wall, and the swivel chair he was sitting on darted across the room. Marth saw it, empty of course, and he ran his hands through his hair. "I must be going delirious." He leaned back in his chair.  
  
That was it. Link stood up and walked over to the blank computer screen. Marth quickly sat up and stared as the keyboard typed the word "Murderer" over and over again. By itself (or so it would seem in his eyes)!  
  
"Who's doing that??" Marth shouted, standing up violently.  
  
'Let's have a little fun,' Link thought, clearing the screen. He typed his name over and over again. Marth screamed and backed up against the wall.  
  
"Stop doing that, whoever you are!!" Marth commanded, not about to believe that Link was actually in the room. "Just stop!" Link continued typing his name, and Marth ran behind the computer and smashed it on the ground.  
  
"I'm going to have fun scaring you," Link said. He jumped on top of the desk and kicked over a vase of flowers. He picked up a box of stationary and threw it at Marth, watching the papers scatter all over the room.  
  
Ducking the wild objects being thrown at him, Marth ran for the door.  
  
"Oh no you don't!" Link shouted. He ran towards Marth and grabbed his shirt collar, firing a fist towards his face. Marth banged into the door, his face getting paler and paler. Wildly, he reached for the doorknob and bolted out of the room.  
  
"Leave me alone!!" he shouted. Once outside, Marth stopped for a breath, though Link was right next to him. He remembered that the account had been emptied, and tried to focus his mind on that. Sighing, Marth closed his eyes. Then they snapped open. "That psychic! SHE'S done this!!"  
  
Marth ran for his car. He'd be going to Roy's house, and Link knew it. Running as fast as he could, Link headed straight for Peach's apartment. Much to his dismay, he found that her two sisters were there too, and three of them were crowded around the TV watching X-files.  
  
"Peach!" Link wheezed, clutching a stitch in his side.  
  
"What is it?!" Peach asked, throwing the bowl of popcorn in the air at the sound of Link's scared voice. "Is it Zelda??"  
  
"No, it's you! Marth can't get into the account, and he thinks that you still have the money! You've got to get out of here now!! He'll be here any minute now with Roy!"  
  
"They know where I live??" Peach shouted, standing up.  
  
"Peach, what's wrong?" Saria asked nervously. Her sister had been talking to herself more and more these days.  
  
"You're going crazy again!" Malon whimpered.  
  
"Guys, we've got to get out of here!!" Peach cried, grabbing her sisters by the wrists, she ran for the door. "Link, where can we go??"  
  
"You don't have time to get to my place!" Link said. "You'll have to find one of your friends at this apartment!"  
  
"We don't HAVE any friends at this apartment!!" Peach shouted. "We'll just have to find some kind-hearted citizen who'll take in three strangers for a few minutes!"  
  
"Peach, what's going on?!" Malon shrieked, as her sister dragged her and Saria to the nearest door.  
  
"We've got to leave our room!" Peach answered. "I've got two murderers hot on my tail!"  
  
"Well thanks for telling us now!!" Saria shouted as Peach knocked on the door.  
  
An middle-aged woman answered it and looked at them with confusion.  
  
Peach attempted to walk in. "Please ma'am, we need to come in! It's desperate! We've got to es--"  
  
"Who are you??" the woman asked, looking alarmed.  
  
"Please!" Peach cried. "We've got to hide from--"  
  
The door was slammed in her face.  
  
"Well what'd you expect?" Malon asked as they ran for another door. "If we don't believe you, what makes you think anyone of these people are?!"  
  
"They're coming in the apartment!!" Link warned them.  
  
At the next door, there was an elderly Japanese man who resembled a toad. "May I help you?"  
  
"Yes!" Peach shouted, jumping in the room with her sisters in tow and slamming the door shut behind them. "Please be quiet sir, I'll explain everything in a second! Link, where are they??"  
  
"Quiet, they're coming up the stairs!" Link told her.  
  
Peach's heart beat faster and faster as she heard two pairs of footsteps come pummeling up the stairs. She could hear them pounding on the door two rooms down.  
  
"They just broke into the room," Link whispered to Peach. "I'm gonna go in there and see what else they do."  
  
Roy kicked over a couch. "She's not under here, either."  
  
"Where the hell is she?!" Marth shouted. "Look. . .you keep searching up here, and I'm gonna go downstairs and see if she's at the pool or something."  
  
"Got it."  
  
Link flew back to the Japanese guy's room. "Roy's still looking in your room, and Marth's going down by the pool." He paused and grinned. "I think I'm gonna give Roy a little torture."  
  
Roy ran into the bathroom, his gun out, and pulled back the shower curtain. How cliché: no one was there. Link entered the bathroom as Roy started opening cabinets and closets inside. Smirking, Link walked over to the shower and turned it on. Roy stared at it in alarm. Link picked up the soap bar and threw it out of the room and into the kitchen.  
  
Just narrowly missing getting hit by a flying soap bar, Roy ran out of the bathroom. Link pursued, whamming Roy into a corner with his fist. He continued to beat up the criminal, who could do little to defend himself.  
  
Finally, Roy managed to take out his gun and fire it repeatedly into the air. Some of the bullets zoomed through Link's body, having no affect on him whatsoever. He picked up the toaster and threw it at Roy, and it caught the back of his head.  
  
Covered in blood and sweat, Roy ran from the room screaming. But Link wasn't done with him just yet. He followed, all the way until they reached the street. Link took more punches at Roy, finally sending him into the street.  
  
Roy got up and ran, hearing the sound of a car screeching. Upon hearing several screams, he whipped around and yelled himself.  
  
There he was, lying underneath a motion-less car. Dead.  
  
Eyes nearly popping out of his head, Roy ran through a crowd of people and stared at his own dead body. He screamed again.  
  
"Oh, hi Roy."  
  
Roy whipped around and saw Link, who laughed.  
  
"It's me. Y'know, that guy you murdered earlier to get that account number? Yeah. As for that money, I gave it to a convent. You've wasted you're time going after her. But you can't fix anything now, Roy. You're dead."  
  
Roy stared at him, too traumatized to say anything. Link was about to continue, when he saw the shadow of a nearby car slowly lift up off the ground. Both he and Roy were stunned to see several black shapes floating towards them, emitting horrid screeching noises.  
  
Link looked around. No one else had noticed. They were all busy looking at the accident that had killed Roy. Link whipped around when he heard Roy screaming a blood-curdling scream: the dark shadows had somehow grabbed a hold of him, and where fleeing away with him in their grasp.  
  
They came upon a manhole, and Link watched in a state of shock as Roy was pulled down into the darkness. Moments later, his screaming slowly died away.  
  
Shaken, Link ran around to the back of the apartment. Marth was no where near the pool situated close to it. He ran up the stairs and into the Japanese dude's room.  
  
"Peach! Roy just died--"  
  
"He did?!"  
  
"Yes, but Marth's no where to be found! He may be going to Zelda's, but I'm not quite sure--c'mon, you've got to come help me!"  
  
"Okay, I'm coming!" Peach shouted, bursting towards the door.  
  
"Hey, is it safe to go back to our room or what?!" Saria called out.  
  
"Fine, whatever!"  
  
Peach and Link ran to Zelda's house. She hurried up the steps and banged on the door as loudly as she could. "Zelda! Zel, open up!"  
  
She could hear soft un-even footsteps approach. "Who's there?"  
  
"It's me, Peach!"  
  
"Go away!" Zelda shouted angrily.  
  
"No, Link and I have to talk to you! It's important; you're in danger!!"  
  
"Shut the hell up!!" Zelda screamed, tears finding their way down her face. "Link is dead! He's dead, okay?! There is no way that he can be contacting you!! Why are you doing this to me?!"  
  
"Link, she's not listening!" Peach cried desperately. "Help me out!"  
  
Link walked through the door and came to a stop. He saw Zelda sitting on the floor, nearly drowning in her own tears. His heart flew to her, but there was nothing he could do directly.  
  
"Tell her she's wearing the shirt I gave her for her nineteenth birthday," Link told Peach through the door.  
  
"Zelda, listen, you're wearing the shirt Link gave you for nineteenth birthday!" Peach said desperately.  
  
"And those are the jeans I got her from Abercrombie for Christmas!"  
  
"And you're wearing the jeans he got you for Christmas from Abercrombie!"  
  
"Why are you doing this to me?!" Zelda repeated. "Leave me alone!"  
  
"ZELDA!" Peach shouted. "I'm trying to help you!! How could I know all this if Link wasn't here?!"  
  
Again, Zelda felt herself being convinced. She slowly stood up, but didn't open the door.  
  
"Peach, give me a penny," Link said.  
  
"What? Why? After I give four million dollars to some nuns you want me to--"  
  
"GIVE IT TO ME!! Slide it through the door!"  
  
"All right, all right, fine." Fumbling around in her purse, Peach said, "I don't have any pennies!"  
  
"FINE! A nickel, dime, anything!"  
  
Peach pulled out a quarter and slid it underneath the door. "I don't know what you're gonna do, Link, but. . ."  
  
Link bent down and picked up the coin. Zelda watched in astonishment as the coin floated in front of her. Instinctively, she put out her hand, palm-up, and Link dropped the quarter in it.  
  
"Tell her to look at the year it was printed," Link said.  
  
"He wants you to look at the year on it," Peach told Zelda.  
  
Shaking a bit, Zelda turned over the quarter. "1997."  
  
"Okay, tell her that was. . .two years before I gave her her lucky penny that she always kept in her blue running jacket."  
  
"He says that 1997 is two years before he gave you the lucky penny you always kept in your running jacket. Blue running jacket! Can't you see I'm the real thing?!"  
  
Zelda wiped away at her tears, but they were quickly replaced by silent new ones. Link reached down and stroked her face briefly. She reached up hand, but she couldn't feel anything.  
  
"Will you please let me in, now?" Peach asked.  
  
Hesitantly, Zelda opened the door, and Peach walked in.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
a/n:  
  
that okay? plz review! dude, it's taking me 4ever 2 b able 2 load this..... 


	10. A Kiss Goodbye

Peach collapsed on a red-cushioned chair, and Zelda sat on the blue couch next to it. "What....what was it you two wanted to tell me?"  
  
"It's a long story, but. . .do you know someone named Marth?"  
  
"Marth Lowell?"  
  
"Yes," Link answered.  
  
"Yes," said Peach. "He's the man behind Link's murder."  
  
It took a minute for this to sink in. "W-what?" she asked. "Why would Marth want to do a thing like that?! He was Link's best friend!"  
  
"Money," Peach replied. "Four million dollars."  
  
Zelda looked at the ground. "Rosa Parks. . ."  
  
"How'd you know about that?" Peach and Link asked simoltaneously, even though Zelda only heard Peach.  
  
"Well, I-I saw you that day at the bank," Zelda answered. "I asked who you were, and they said Rosa Parks." She raised an eyebrow.  
  
"But that was only a small crime inside a crime," Peach tried to explain. "It was necessary that that money be taken away. I have no idea who Rosa Parks even is."  
  
"Wonder if she even exists," Link muttered.  
  
"But the point is," Peach continued, "that Marth knows the money is gone. So now he thinks I have it. But I don't. I was forced by your husband to give it away to some blood-thirsty nuns."  
  
Zelda smiled. "That sounds like something Link would do."  
  
"So anyway, he and his little crony came to my apartment to try and find me. He didn't succeed, though, because Link warned me just in time. But now we think he may be coming here, because he might think you've got the cash."  
  
"He won't be here for a while, though," Link said. "He's got to recuperate and find out about Roy, first."  
  
"Link says he won't be here for a little while though," Peach said.  
  
Zelda still wasn't sure if she believed her or not. Standing up, she hesitated and then said, "Do you want some coffee?"  
  
Peach's mouth dropped. Link nudged, her and told her to accept it. "Sure."  
  
As Zelda went in the kitchen, Peach looked around the room for Link. "Do you really think we actually have time to sit down and have a cup of coffee?!?!"  
  
"I don't think she's sure about you yet," Link said. "I just wish there was some way she could talk to me directly."  
  
Peach frowned, then sighed. "Fine, all right. I give in. You can use me."  
  
Link turned to face her. "What?"  
  
"Use me!" Peach said. "Go inside my body and tell her yourself."  
  
Link stooped down. "Peach, are you sure?"  
  
"I don't want her to die!" Peach said. "I'm your trusted friend now, aren't I? Just jump on top of me and you should go inside."  
  
Holding his breath, Link jumped in. Peach could feel her body changing. She turned around to face the mirror, and saw her hair grow longer and straighter, her face become more chiseled, and she started growing taller.  
  
Seconds later, she had been successfully transformed into Link. She/he ran towards the kitchen, only to discover that Zelda was behind the closed bathroom door.  
  
"Oh, fine time to go to the bathroom, Zel!" Link thought inwardly. He walked back into the living room; and Zelda promptly walked back inside the kitchen.  
  
Suddenly, Link bent over. He put a hand to his stomach and moaned loudly in agony.  
  
"Peach, are you all--"  
  
Zelda had stepped out of the kitchen, and froze when she saw Link standing over the couch. Suddenly, a wisp of something made it's way out of his throat, and he changed back into Peach.  
  
"What happened?!" Link demanded.  
  
"It must've been from all that running I did," Peach wheezed. "I am completely out of shape."  
  
"What was that?" Zelda asked.  
  
Before Peach could answer, there was a knock at the door. They were continuous, and getting very loud.  
  
"Zelda, are you in there?! It's me, Marth!"  
  
Zelda coiled in fear at the sound of his voice.  
  
"Quick!" Link said. "You guys have to get out of here!!"  
  
"I'm too tired," Peach whispered. "I can barely stand up!" The knocking got louder. "Zelda, quick! Go somewhere he won't find you!"  
  
"I'm not leaving you here to get killed!" Zelda cried. "You helped me, and I've got to help you!" She grabbed Peach by the arm and helped her to the other side of the house and through a doorway.  
  
"Where's this staircase go?" Peach yawned groggily.  
  
"Up to the loft and the attic," Zelda answered.  
  
"Isn't that the same thi--"  
  
They heard a loud crashing sound from behind them. Marth had broken down the door. Now, gun out, he dashed inside the living room. He could see the door Peach and Zelda had just used swing closed. Pelting towards it, he recieved a coffee pot in the side of the head.  
  
"Compliments of me," Link said, hurrying forward towards Peach and Zelda.  
  
Marth shook it up and darted up the stair case. He could just see Peach's foot escape up another stairway. "I see you!" Marth shouted, shooting his gun. "Come back here!"  
  
"Quickly, this way!" Zelda said, as she heard Marth's footsteps getting closer. "This'll lead to the roof!" Marth, who had been using most of his bullets, ran into the room as Zelda narrowly got up and Peach was on the ladder.  
  
"Got you!" Marth snarled, shooting the gun at Peach. The bullet flew into her right shoulder blade, and she fell off the ladder five feet to the floor.  
  
"Peach!" Zelda screamed, as the psychic rolled over on her back. Zelda jumped down the ladder as Marth prepared to shoot Peach with his last bullet. "Marth, don't do it!" Zelda shouted, though not really expecting him to listen. She ran towards him, and whammed into his side.  
  
This caused him to fire wildly as the pair fell to the ground. Marth whacked Zelda with the end of his gun and kicked her out of the way as he stood up to add some more bullets to his weapon.  
  
"Link," Peach moaned. "Help!"  
  
"With pleasure!" Link shouted, running full-force towards Marth.  
  
"Perhaps you've forgotten," Marth said. "But Link isn't--"  
  
At that precise moment, Link punched Marth's head as hard as he could. Marth backed up from the blow, looking around him nervously. Link struck him again, knocking him closer and closer to a window. . .  
  
"Link!" Marth bellowed. "What the fu--"  
  
Link clamped his hand around Marth's throat, squeezing the air out of him. "Time to say good-bye to life!" he said. Unceremoniously, Link grabbed Marth's shoulders and thrust him into the window; then quickly pushed down.  
  
"I wouldn't look over there if I were you," Peach advised Zelda.  
  
Link stepped back to take a look at Marth's lifeless body. It was lying face-up on the window sill; a large piece of glass stuck up through his chest and blood was spilling all over. Grimacing, Link pushed Marth one final time, making him fall to the ground below them.  
  
"Let someone else find that," Link muttered.  
  
"Link!" came a voice.  
  
"Why, if it isn't Marth," Link said, turning around. "In case you're wondering why you can suddenly feel me, it's because....hmm, how do I say this.....you're dead. I've just killed you. If you don't believe me, there's your body down there."  
  
His eyes widening, Marth crossed the room over to the window and stared at his corpse in shock. Suddenly, dark shadows started seeping through the cracks in the floorboard. In a slug-like way, they oozed towards Marth and wrapped themselves around his legs.  
  
"Looks like Satan's messengers have come to pick you up," Link said.  
  
The shadows pulled, and Marth was brought down to the floor with a scream. Seconds later, they took him outside of the window, and Link couldn't see them anymore.  
  
Zelda crawled towards Peach and put her arms around her, tears spilling down her face. "Peach, are you all right??"  
  
"I'll be okay," Peach answered, hugging the sobbing Zelda close to her. "But I don't think your ceiling will be. Marth's gun left a big hole in it. Hey Link, what just happened?"  
  
"Nothin', Marth's gone. You guys okay?"  
  
Zelda's head suddenly lifted and her tears became silent. "L-Link? Was that you?"  
  
Link walked towards them. "Zelda, you can hear me??"  
  
"Yes," she whispered. "Where are you?"  
  
"I'm right underneath this hole in the ceiling."  
  
Link looked up, and he saw the clouds parting in the skies. The full moon shone brightly in the night, and it's light began to pour into the room.  
  
"Oh....my....God...." Peach whispered. "Link...."  
  
"Link!" Zelda screamed, looking frightened and confused at the same time.  
  
Quickly, Link looked down at himself. . .he could see himself! His head and torso had already formed, and his lower half was beginning to. Moments later, Peach and Zelda could see Link standing there, light shining from every part of his body.  
  
Zelda tried to stand up, but she couldn't. Link walked towards her and bent down.  
  
"I can see you," she whispered.  
  
Link smiled, not able to think up a response. He put his hand underneath her chin, and brought her face closer to his. Then he sealed the small distance between them, pressing his lips to hers and stroking her hair softly.  
  
Peach watched the two kiss, smiling through her tears.  
  
Minutes later, they broke apart for a breath. Link seemed to shine brighter than before. He stood up and walked back beneath the hole in the roof. He looked up. There was undoubtedly more than moonlight shining from up there now.  
  
"Zelda," he whispered, small tears finding their way out of his eyes and onto his cheeks. "Always remember...I love you." His voice sounded choked with emotion. "I love you, Zelda."  
  
"You know that I love you Link," Zelda said in a hushed voice, blinking through her tears. "More than anything.  
  
Link closed his eyes, and he slowly started fading away. "Good-bye, Zelda....and thanks, Peach. You're the greatest."  
  
Peach let out a small laugh, still smiling and crying.  
  
He looked at them one more time, then vanished completely.  
  
"I love you, Zelda."  
  
~THE END~  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
a/n: well, i hope i didn't disappoint u guys or anything with that ending.  
  
btw, 4 those who haven't seen it, i highly recommend the movie i largely based this story on of the same name. it stars:  
  
Patrick Swayze in Link's character  
  
Demi Moore in Zelda's character  
  
and  
  
Oscar-winning Whoopi Goldberg as Oda Mae Brown (Peach).  
  
look 4 more of my stories, and plz review as always! 


	11. Epilogue

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Epilogue:  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*  
  
The years rolled by, and Zelda and Peach had grown to become the best of friends. Malon and Saria had become a little frightened of their sister; and had both been married to Texans far away.  
  
Zelda, sadly, never re-married. She felt an emptiness in her heart where Link should've been. She just couldn't marry. However, that didn't stop her from adopting three children from the nearest orphanage.  
  
Peach ended up marrying a millionaire. She didn't marry him for his money though, because he'd been as poor as she until getting an inheritence from a rich uncle he'd never met in his life. Coincidentally, Peach's husband was Earl's cousin, and Earl would often stop by to visit (remember Earl was that guy who used Peach's body that one time to talk to his wife).  
  
Zelda had ended up being a professional potter, and was very successful. Her town was quite proud. Every now and then, whenever there was a full moon, she would take a mattress up to the attic and sleep there. The hole from Marth's gun had never been patched up.  
  
"Mommy, what're you doing up here?" her youngest daughter Nanna would ask.  
  
Zelda would draw Nanna into a tight embrace and look up at the bright moon. "This is the last time I saw your dad before he died...."  
  
Her son, Max, outgrew these "silly ghost stories" when he became ten. He didn't believe his mother had ever nearly been murdered by an ex-best friend. He didn't believe she'd seen and spoken to her dead husband.  
  
"But it's true!" Peach would insist.  
  
"Stop it, Aunt Peach," Max'd sigh. "You're getting worse than mother.  
  
"I'll always believe you," Nanna would say, cuddling in Peach's lap.  
  
Whenever Peach and Zelda would go to a diner or some place with a juke box (or open mic night), they'd insist on hearing or singing "I'm Henry the Eigth (I am)." Zelda had admitted that that was the song Link had won her over with when he first asked her out on a date.  
  
"Link was a great guy," Peach said. "I wish he was still able to talk to me."  
  
"It's a shame, yes," Zelda sighed. "But he's fulfilled his purpose. He was being tested. God wanted him by his side then, and it was right for him to go. But no matter what, I'll always miss him. And I will ALWAYS love him."  
  
~END!~  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
well, i gotta get some sleep so i can start the sequel to Miracles Should Happen. Or maybe the Dark Lord and The Dark King.............guess i'll decide tomorrow. audos! 


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